Sask. girl, 12, dies in ski crash at Panorama resort

A 12-year-old girl from Langham, Sask., who was skiing with her father at the Panorama Mountain Village in B.C. Thursday, died after losing control and crashing into a tree.

According to officials from the resort, the accident happened around 10:30 a.m. on a run called Millennium.

They said her father and a number of other skiers in the area rushed to the girl's aid, adding that ski patrol members were on the scene within minutes to initiate CPR.

Less than 25 minutes after the crash, the child and her father were taken by helicopter to the nearby hospital at Invermere but the girl died due to head and internal injuries.

RCMP Cpl. Grant Simpson told CBC News that the girl's father noticed she had veered onto a more-difficult run and tried to get to her.

"The little girl was with her father ... and I guess she just took a wrong turn on the hill and ended up on a more advanced hill and dad was trying to catch up with her and tell her to go a different way," Simpson explained.

Simpson said helicopter team responded very quickly to the accident.

"They had a helicopter there within seconds," he said. "There is a heli-skiing outfit that works right off of Panorama Mountain, they were there. [They] couldn't have been there any quicker."

While resort officials did not release the name of the girl, CBC News has confirmed she is from Langham, a community about 40 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. She was vacationing in B.C. with her father, brother and two of their friends.

The Panorama Mountain Village is in the Canadian Rockies and is a well-established destination for winter vacations.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the family," Steve Paccagnan, president of the resort, said in a statement Thursday. "This is a tragic accident and we are doing everything we can to assist the family during this trying time."

Officials noted that conditions on the mountain were overcast with light snow and that visibility was excellent. They said the girl was wearing a helmet at the time.

"We are all deeply saddened by this event and I want to thank the entire Emergency Response Team for their quick response and professionalism," Paccagnan added. "They did all they could to save this little girl."